Humans are just another creature borne of Mother Earth, a sentient animal, but an animal, nonetheless. That was the general consensus.

Yet, while humanity had to toil and discover the science of the Fae Serum, limited by Faetality, every other animal species was granted their power entirely by nature.

Fae Beasts were creatures that mutated and evolved in matters of days, forming never before seen species blessed with abilities as unique as those of the fae.

The contrast in the manner we gained power is quite interesting, is it not? But why is it so?

It’s almost as if Mother Earth herself wanted to make a point.

–An excerpt from the Introductory Chapter to the “Handbook on Fae Beast Zoology.”

***

It was a tight fit.

Leaving behind the safety of the cold iron cavern, Miles had had to squeeze his way through the crack in the wall. But before he stepped into the hallway proper, what caught his notice first was the smell. Similar to what he had encountered before, but now present unbarred and direct.

For a moment, fueled by some strange instinct, Miles willingly allowed it.

He inhaled deep, in an attempt to understand.

The simple task of smelling became something more. To him, the singular mixed scent of the hallway seemed to diverge, appearing as separated threads that originated from different sources. It was similar to how his enhanced sense of smell had been before, but here, he felt he had so much more control, along with the ability to seek for more…

Miles inhaled deeper and deeper, sifting through the threads of scent.

A cold, sharp scent of metal, mingled with the comforting scent of earth and stone.

No, that was not what he wanted, so he moved on.

A pungent musky stench, overwhelming, flowing in from all directions, near and afar.

Yes, that was it.

Miles felt his nostrils flare, and something within him pulled upon that particular thread.

It was a terrible smell, but as usual with his enhanced senses, it failed to overwhelm him.

Disgusting, but it was also just there.

Eventually his pulling gave way, the thread unraveled, and that revolting odor, the feeling of the smell, turned into… knowing.

‘Ammonia? Some form of mammalian excreta?’

Miles should have been disgusted by the realization, but he was only intrigued, tightening his grip upon the thread as he pondered, ‘But it's everywhere! Then, is it not a sentient creature, but some manner of beast instead?’

Neither gnomes nor goblins were uncivilized to the point that they would wallow in their own filth. Miles pulled upon the threads, seeking and searching for answers, and finally…

‘Most of the creatures here are in good health and the majority are fresh... young. All of them feel… safe here. This has been their home for as long as they have known it, but they are also agitated right now… Why?

'Oh, they’re hungry? That’s why most of them are gathered together as well?

‘...To feed? To sacrifice–’

A flash of something and that focus was lost, his thoughts were his own once more. Miles blinked blankly, feeling unsteady by what he had just experienced.

‘Where in the holy hells did that come from?! Is it even possible to learn that much from mere smell?’

Curious, Miles attempted another inhale, this time managing to latch on to a different thread, a subtle, faint yet ever-present smell.

Old, rotting flesh. Crushed, decayed bone. All of it several months old, and… it's human?

Human presence within the Doorway was unexpected, but perhaps, judging by the state of the source, they may very well have been unfortunate former explorers of this domain. Though if that were truly the case, their deaths being just a few months old was… unusual as well.

Regardless, Miles had no reason to travel in that direction, for that also happened to be where the unknown creatures numbered in the thousands, observed so closely that their individual blooded forms seemed to meld together into one gigantic super blob.

Yes, absolutely no reason to travel in that direction.

Miles exhaled, letting go of his hold upon the ‘scent threads’, effectively ending his analysis of smell. Suffice to say, his olfactory sense had somehow improved to a level it was on par with his sense of touch and the almost sixth sense of ‘whispering wind’. Even now, it spoke to him, revealing things he could not have known otherwise.

He allowed his vision to take the stage next, enhanced eyes peering through the pitch-black darkness of the hallway.

It was spacious, his standing height barely reaching halfway to the ceiling. The structure was unnaturally uniform, a perfectly designed cuboid, reminiscent of accuracy only possible with artificially enhanced machinery.

The major composition was cold steel, but in an unusual mirror to the state of the cavern, only the walls and the ceiling were formed of it. The ground beneath his feet was rough, cavernous rock. It was an odd arrangement, but Miles had no intention of pondering questionable interior design choices while inside of a Doorway.

What caught his attention were the cracks over these iron walls, spread out randomly as far as he could see.

A hurried examination revealed that they only had a bedrock of solid stone underneath, none leading into hidden caverns like the crack he had first appeared in. But it was the discovery of a particular collection of such ‘cracks’ that confirmed these were far from ‘natural’ damage.

Four ‘cracks’ in close proximity, ripped from top to bottom, as if the cold steel had been cleaved through by something, something with massive claws. Considering that they were twice his size, whatever had done this was at least the size of an adult ogre.

‘Assuming the average strength of a human is ten strength points, compared with the standard tensile strength of cold formed steel, the requirement to rip through these walls would be, at the minimum… several thousand strength attribute points!’

As strong as an adult ogre, as well then.

Miles could not remember the last time he had worried of danger from a similar tier creature, but… he had to admit, things were different when you did not have an Epsilon tier butler by your side.

His fists tightened at the realization.

Miles had had the privilege to ignore fae serums despite near limitless access to the priceless resource, entirely because he had also been granted the privilege to be protected regardless of his personal power.

In reality, he himself was weak.

Still Miles refused to believe that his decision to ignore Fae Serums was wrong. Even if he were a Fae human, he could not hope to match even against a true-blue Epsilon with just his Zeta-tier faetality.

Well, that was unless he practiced Zhan Shen’s nonsensical technique of using Fae Serums while ignoring the limits of faetality. Even for that though, his Mind World meditation was still far from reaching the level required, besides…

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

‘What if, just what if, my Faetality growth were to be halted due to the use of a serum?’

Even at this very moment, when he was on the brink of reaching the age where Faetality would never rise further, Miles still held onto faint hope. He could never forgive himself if that was what ended up keeping him from reaching the requisite 1000 faetality.

To be fair, Vampirism might have already ruined--

Miles shook his head out of those dark thoughts, realizing he had been standing clueless in the middle of the hallway, and prepared himself to move.

Despite the relative suddenness of the decision to venture outside the cavern, he had not done so without a plan.

Miles’ target was a specific creature located just a short distance away, a blob of blood that barely reached the height of his knee.

It was one of many lone stragglers that were left alone by the rest of the creatures that were grouped together. They moved slowly and within a limited area.

Perhaps they were outcasts compared to the rest of the group, perhaps they were some different species, but the specifics did not matter either way. The objective was to identify the nature of these creatures, perhaps even test his newest skill, and consider the situation before deciding the next move.

Feeling that he had prepared as well as he could, Miles set out.

His movement was quick yet measured, boots making little noise despite the cavernous stone floor. Blood Vision was perpetually activated, ensuring he was always aware of the positioning of these creatures.

The purpose of this skill was to reveal the presence of blood, and while blooded creatures were highlighted with glowing silhouettes, the rest of the world was presented in an almost faded focus. This meant that moving while the skill was active was a bit jarring, but he adapted to it well enough.

Eventually Miles reached the end of this hallway, arriving at a T- junction.

The blob of red that was the targeted creature was not far and although he couldn’t determine a direct path towards it, he could estimate the distance as well as general direction.

Miles confidently turned to the right, walking into another identical hallway.

He was quick to note that amidst the clawed scratches upon the walls, there were also the occasional gap or hole, as if carved into the metal. Though far less imposing, there were strange as well.

They barely reached the height of this knee and to his best guess, something was… digging?

‘Interesting…’

There was no junction at the end of this hallway, just a sharp turn to the left, and Miles followed it, for it led even closer to his query.

The winds shifted as he moved, a faint flow persistent despite the relative silence and stillness of the area. Almost on instinct, Miles’ senses spread out.

His eyes were sharp despite the pitch-black darkness, nocturnal vision and Blood Vision allowing an uncanny understanding of the presence of the creatures. His ears perked at the slightest noise, nostrils tingling with the pungent odor of creatures and death, the latter, at least growing fainter now.

Suffice to say, there was no way Miles was going to be caught off guard.

His walking continued for a short while longer and as he did, the damage upon the walls changed. The clawed slashes gradually decreased, replaced by more and more of those carved holes.

Miles couldn’t complain, anything to stray further from the vicinity of the potential ogre.

The confusing nature of these walls put aside, he soon reached where he needed to be.

He sniffed a strand of that musky, pungent odor directly nearby. The winds wavered, whispering of the presence in close proximity.

All that remained between Miles and the target creature was a wall of cold iron and a bend towards the left.

Viewed through Sanguine Aspectus, the visage of its pulsing blood and beating ‘heart-crystal’ was–mesmerizing, but fortunately, Miles had gotten somewhat desensitized to that allure over the past few hours of experimenting with the skill.

His breathing remained silent, and his faintly beating heart calm.

Miles deactivated the vision skill and with a soft exhale and a single short step, peered over the corner.

What would it be?

A large gnome? Maybe a goblin? Worst case, of the Dread Kind?

That would be far from ideal, but he should be able to handle it still.

But what Miles actually found took him entirely by surprise.

Even if it had been an ogre, a child ogre, he would not have been as surprised as he was right now.

This was a giant, human infant sized—

Rat.

A mangy, monstrous rodent… nibbling on the cold iron walls like it was candy.

***

The shock wore out soon enough and Miles stared dumbstruck at the strange creature.

It was an ordinary rodent in every way, well, besides its gigantic size that put even the rats of the Hamelin district to shame, and the fact that it was comfortably chewing on metal with its teeth.

‘Wait, does the title of this ‘trial quest’ Welcome to Hamelin have anything to do with the outer city district of the same name? Are these rats the same manner of Fae Beast that were supposed to have consumed Marcus or that whatever ripper-doc? ‘

Yes, it was entirely possible that this rat before him was some manner of fae mutated species identical to those from Hamelin.

Indeed, Miles remembered some vague mention of irregular rat infestations in certain areas of the Outer Capital city.

Unfortunately, he had not paid personal attention. Though he had not heard any mention of actual fae beasts, it was also true that he had not cared much, not even when Marcus’ corpse had been discovered. At best, it had been passing curiosity, and nothing more.

Unfortunate.

Miles’ eyes returned to the rodent that seemed to be… excavating the wall?

Perhaps he was wrong, and the rat was just feeding upon the cold iron, but there was just something... intentional in how it moved and consumed the metal. A cursory glance revealed that the rest of this hallway was checkered with more of those cracked and chewed holes.

Intending to shed some light on this mystery, Miles’ gaze fixed upon the rat before him. He reached for the toggle embedded within his mind, the skill of Detect, and the moment he pressed…

[Hordread Rat - Digger - Level 6]

Miles narrowed his eyes, even as he retreated back to the corner of the wall and re-activated Blood Vision so he may continue to analyze this strange Hordread Rat.

As he had concluded before, direct eye contact with the object in question was indeed the requirement for the skill Detect, but his focus was on the system message.

Hordread meant little to him, though if it had anything to do with the dread fae, it did not bode well. Digger seemed to confirm the rat was indeed an excavator of sorts, giving the animal some level of sentient intelligence. What was most interesting though was, Level 6.

Miles himself was only at a slightly higher level of 10, so he wasn’t particularly worried except…

‘Why the hell does a rat have system levels?’

This rodent was very obviously fae-enhanced or influenced by the Doorway in some way.

It was a fae beast for sure, but why levels?

There were a few possibilities here, extending from ‘horde rats’ having system access, to this being a function of the Detect skill allowing easy gauging and comparison of the power levels of those he observed.

Miles had not had the opportunity to use Detect on other living creatures, so the latter was entirely possible, but even if that were the case, it still left much unsaid.

To him, one level implied a difference of 6 attribute points, 3 to each of his physical attributes, and another 3 as free points. This was entirely based on the nature of his former Vawul Class Newborn.

So, did the rats’ level 6 equate to that exact quantity of attributes? Or was it different? And if it was, was it for the better or for the worse?

Miles could only hope that a literal rat’s class, Hordread Rat, did not have a better attribute-to-level ratio than his own class did.

Regardless, Detect had helped shed light on the mystery greatly. However, there was still much he didn’t know about the nature of these rodents.

That was exactly why Miles decided to do what he decided next.

He would kill the creature, right here, right now.

The fight itself would allow a rough gauge of its abilities and killing it should reveal the more detailed kill notification as well.

Miles was willing to take the risk because this particular rat had been left entirely alone, while the rest of the… horde was congregating elsewhere.

Decision made, he let out a light breath, tightening his grip over the sharp spike of rock he had commandeered from the cavern. The sharp end was pointed downward, brandished as if a fang, and he poised himself to launch.

The rat remained unaware, twitching as it chewed on the iron of the wall.

Miles’ senses worked in hyperdrive, listening, watching, smelling, sensing, and then it came…

A moment in time when the wind came to a still, and the scent was one of… vulnerability.

Nameless Footwork exploded under his feet, flowing in a series of movements distinctly different from the usual. Slower perhaps, but almost entirely silent and undetected.

Miles moved and the wind flew after him.

It was to be a short fight and his lips curled at the prospect of the kill, the elation of the hunt, and then… he was upon the creature.

The rat reacted, slow and barely turning its head, perhaps at the behest of some animalistic sixth sense, but by then, it was too late.

With a grotesque crunch of bone and squelching flesh, its fist-sized skull was crushed, pierced through by the spike of stone. Curiously, its jaw remained intact.

Ding!

[You have slain {Hordread Rat Digger (Evolved)/ Bound Familiar (Enhanced/Super Strength - Meager/Iron Fangs)} x1]

The scent of the ensuing blood and brain matter riled up a familiar thirst. Still fueled by adrenaline, his heart pounding, Miles had to exert effort to restrain himself, when... something else appeared.

A feeling.

An emotion.

No, this was not so limiting or simple.

This was–a way of life.

A hunt succeeded. A life cycle completed. All in offering to the mother above.

It was raw emotion, of pride and satisfaction that filled Miles and his beating heart with such fervor, that he even forgot about his desire for blood and even the notification.

He reveled in the perfectly ordinary elation, at least until a second notification appeared and distracted him out of it.

[Title: (Un)balanced? interferes. Vawul|W̶u̸r̶k̵a̴n̵ Experience withheld.]

Miles was unsure whether to consider this problematic or a blessing in disguise, but it seemed he would not be gaining experience for the duration that his evolution was halted.

He could not ponder on the topic any further, for a sudden chill ran up his spine.

Miles' nostrils tingled with the scents(?) of anger and rage. Yes, he smelled the emotions.

His heart banged like a war drum and the winds exploded, roaring and screaming of incoming danger.

The reason for all this was very clearly visible. Miles’ eyes blazing with the skill of Blood Vision saw it all.

Like a beehive that had been disturbed, hundreds of blooded silhouettes were rushing forth in an endless cascade.

It was horde of creatures, Rats, all after him.